The Hologic WTA Tour this week as the tour's players scatter around the globe to fulfill their national team duties at the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers and regional events.
Here's what you need to know about the Billie Jean King Cup, the annual women's national team tournament that will culminate in the finals in November.
What is the Billie Jean King Cup?
Formerly known as Federation Cup (1963-1995) and Fed Cup (1995-2020), the Billie Jean King Cup is an international team competition launched and organized by the International Tennis Federation. The event is open to all nations, with a record 132 national competing in 2023.
Launched to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ITF, the inaugural event was held at Queen's Club in London. Led by Billie Jean King, the American team defeated Margaret Court's Australian squad to capture the first of what would become 18 titles for the Americans.
Who is playing?
Team nominations were announced in March. This year's Qualifiers will see a marquee slate of WTA players set for national duty, including World No.1 Iga Swiatek, No.5 Jessica Pegula, former No.1s Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep, as well as national heroes such as Elina Svitolina, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Caroline Garcia and Emma Raducanu.
For a full list of nominations click here.
What is the event format?
The current format was introduced in 2020. Teams qualify for the Finals via the Qualifiers, which are played on a home-and-away basis in a best-of-five match format (four singles, one doubles) across two days.
The previous year's finalists, the Finals hosts, and a wild card nation earn automatic entry into the year-end Finals. Teams that do not compete at the Qualifiers can earn a chance for promotion via regional competitions.
Wozniacki, Zheng lead team nominations for BJK Cup Regionals
Losing teams from the Qualifiers will compete in promotion/relegation playoffs held in the same week as the Finals.
The winning teams from the Qualifiers advance to the year-end Finals in Seville, Spain. The Finals will see 12 teams compete at one location over six days in November, with the winner emerging as the champion.
Last year, Canada defeated Italy to capture its first Billie Jean King Cup championship.
What matches will be played this weekend?
The 2024 Qualifiers consist of eight ties played on a home-and-away basis, all of which are played as best-of-five matches (four singles and one doubles). The hosting nation earns the right to choose the venue and surface for the tie.
Ties begin on Friday, April 12 and conclude on Saturday, April 13.
2024 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers:
Australia vs. Mexico (Brisbane, Australia - outdoor hard)
Switzerland vs. Poland (Biel, Switzerland - indoor hard)
France vs. Great Britain (Le Portel, France - indoor clay)
USA vs. Belgium (Orlando, USA - outdoor hard)
Japan vs. Kazakhstan (Tokyo, Japan - indoor hard)
Brazil vs. Germany (Sao Paolo, Brazil - indoor clay)
Slovakia vs. Slovenia (Bratislava, Slovakia - indoor hard)
Ukraine vs. Romania (Ferdinanda Beach, USA - outdoor clay)
Canada, as 2023 world champions, Italy, as 2023 runners-up, hosts Spain and wild card Czech Repubilc have qualified automatically. They will be joined by the eight winners of the 2024 Qualifiers.
What time do the matches start?
For a detailed schedule and live scores for each tie, follow all the action from around the world on the Billie Jean King Cup website.
Are there ranking points on offer?
WTA ranking points are not awarded for Billie Jean King Cup participation or victories.
When will WTA tournaments resume?
The Hologic WTA Tour will resume with the start of the European clay season. Immediately following this weekend's international action, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, a WTA 500 event, and Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole in Rouen, France, a WTA 250 event, will kick off on Monday, April 15.
Those events will be followed by the first WTA 1000 of the clay season at the Mutua Madrid Open, which begins on April 23.
